maandag 24 mei 2010

For the second part of the scenario, we decided to try something different. Using the old Legion of Steel cardboard corridor system, the vault was an erea to be explored in the old `Eye of the Master` rpg style, in that you can only see layouts that one of your models actually could see. Each square as such represented 1 inch of distance...

The forces started in three seperate rooms, with the canadians and italians combined in a single (very crowdy) room, especcially since the italian player (aka, moi) insisted to haul the liberated Professor`s Daughter from last week along. The goal was to work together to reach the objective, and then only ONE player could win it by standing on the objective marker and pass an easy Dare test.

There was a seperate homemade event table, and each door openend triggered an event that could bring in minions of the evil Necron lord...

The game started with a huge hilarity factor as the Germans opened up a door, encountered a few Scarab Swarms and due to being build for maximum shooting power and having lost their only cc character last week, are almost completely wiped out leaving only the companion with 1 wound and a single german trooper standing...

Under the wacthful gaze of both evil overlords, front to back Tomb Spyder and Necron Lord, the brave heroes advanced forward, front to back Team Canada, the Germans and the Spyrers... while the Italians of the SAC investigated their private stash.

As the teams advanced forward through the dungeons, more and more enemies where encountered, but apart from companions the losses where minimal.

The SAC then discovered the map showing the central room and where the touch stone to open it was located, and unlocked it immediatly. Now the race was on to secure the relic for the further benefit of the glorious Italian nation.In the meantime, Hans finally managed to get near a Dare encounter himself. What followed isn`t caught on the security tapes, but we all had a great laugh (well, except the german perhaps...) as the Necromunda sniper dashed by and snatched it away under his nose... before blowing the last german`s brains all across the floor with his custom made sniper rifle.

The Necron Lord appeared in the room, and with a might roar Sasquatch bum rushed him, ready to tear him apart... and the Lord swiftly felled the Canadian superhero. Next up was the Syrer Leader, the Orrus. But only halfway across the room, the disruption rifle of the Lord ended the youngsters ambition of a glorious totem. Then... a shot sounded from an italian Caraco 1896 rifle from one of the Fucilieri and the Necron lord dropped stone dead to the floor. How`s that for an anti climatic battle..

Then, Tomb Spyder entered the fray... and failed to drag an Askari towards her and his doom, and was swiflty gunned down by the Canadians. The overlords didn`t make much of an impression here...

What happened next was a true bloodbath. Having two almost full strength firing lines in the room, the SAC held back and executed one after the other of the heroes to try and grab the objective or approach them, cleaning out the whole room and claiming the objective and the two part story victory for their own. It has to be said that both the Canadian companion and the Spyrer Malcadon managed to botch their easy Dare tests, and actually had the chance for glory...

The end result of two games was as we hoped, no matter how you gear up characters and give unlimited numbers allowed, the silly rifle armed companion, average statted guy is one of the best weapons in the game...

zaterdag 15 mei 2010

A mysterious vault has been unearthed in the ruined city of Tandypolis, said to hold one of the legendary `Ressurection Orbs` of an ancient race called Necrontyr. Bands of brave adventurers gather to try and penetrate into this chamber, but are faced of by a massive force of Necron warriors, intend on not letting their relics fall in human hands...

The battle was fought with 6 players, 4 commanding `heroic teams` - meaning without limitation on Leads or Companions - versus a 2000 points army of enemy low quality followers led by 2 commanding Leads. The goal: to break through the defensive line in a coordinated effort and gain access to the vault, a door at the opposing table edge.

The Necrontyr force was split in a fireline part led by a Necron Lord and consisting of only average stat, low moxie troopers, and a combat part led by a Tomb Spider accompanied by a unit of Flayed Ones and about 10 Scarab Swarm animal companions. We know we rulewise only can take 1 for the Shtick, but it made sense fluff wise and the story is after all more important then `playing the rules`.The Heroic players then placed 8 dare counters total over the playing table, as you needed to secure at least one in order to be able to enter the vault, and the sequence of entrance is important for the follow up game using card tile dungeon plans next week.All casualties and wounds received would also carry over to the next game, so one had to be carefull not to throw his lot in senseless.

Opposing them where on one flank the two `troop` forces of the heroes, namely the SAC team of Tomasso containing himself, Valeria and Professore Tortelini, and supported by 4 black powder rifle armed Askari and 3 Lee Enfield armed Fucilieri; and the German forces of Helga and Hans, which we met previously in earlier reports.

On the other flank we heaped together the Heroes teams, the first consisting around Canadian superhero Sasquatch and some airmen, the second build around a group of Spyrers from the land of Necromunda. Choosing flanks for the teams was done by a highly scientifical method: smokers to one side, non-smokers at the other side so no ashtray juggling.

And then the game was afoot as the italian / german alliance (tiens, where have we seen that before?) advanced towards the vault, the Necron line guarding the entrance looking for any movement in their direction

The Necrontyr Lord decides that attack might be the better defense, and starts crossing the riverbedding together with some warriors towards the Spyrer and airmen coalition that are hugging the cover to observe the enemy moves and plan unfolding.

The skittering horde also starts crossing the riverbed while Tomasso finds and frees the professor`s daughter. Being a galant italian, he immediatly decides to guard her from the savage looks of the germans (and hoping to score himself...), while the aircrew captain discovers a corpse holding a note (and hopefully doesn`t try to score with it...)

Some extreme range pot shots had been taken so far to minimal effect, but then suddenly the Askari got a luminous idea and shouted BANG! very hard. This caused the opposing Necrontyr gunmen to first become suppressed, and when a second volley accidentally hit one between the eyes the mechanical menaces fell back to the cover of a nearby ruin. First casualty scored by the good guys while Sasquatch and his airmen advanced steadily onwards to confront the apporaching Lord

The Necron lord then tries a new sort of camouflage technique while his hordes scotter forwards through the trenches. A shot out of nowhere rings though and some of the mechanoids fall to the ground, taken out by a sniper. This resulted in the unit falling back in cover of the trench wall, and would be the start of a series of disasters on the necron lines due to failed morale... those aeons of sleep didn`t seem to have been nice on their logic processors.

As the Necron lord lines up a shot with his Disruptor Rifle, the bloody thing overheats after being dormant for so long and severly wounds the Lord and destroying the weapon. The Heroes rush in and take the mechanical monster down, causing the entire flank of the Necron gunline now relying on Moxie 5 and mainly cause the whole advance there to crumble and rout

The battle went into a bit of manouvring by then, as positions where relinquished and consolidated to prepare for the next onslaught. The Tomb Spider and her companions continued skittering forward, preparing her Grapling Gun to lurch forward to the dugged in German line. More Necrontyr gunmen became suppressed by the sniper (can you spot him? his paint job accidently matched the buildings very well and was nigh on invisible. He is on the first floor of the dark grey building, in the left window on the picture).

Then the dreaded moment for the heroes arrived, as the Tomb Spider lurched forward towards combat after the failed efforts of the Germans and the SAC to suppress the behemoth. The germans routed voluntarily all over the complex (cowardi!!) and when Helga failed to charge the beast, the tension rose. On the other flank, the heroes stabilized their positions by letting more and more warriors fall back taking barely any gunfire themselves.

Under the loud mechanical noise of something resembling a screech (and the gunsights of the SAC) combat was engaged as the italians and the far off sniper managed to suppress the Tomb Spider and allowing Helga to thunder in. The foolish lass never stood a chance against the beast that lumbered to the back to let her scarabs and pulled in Flayed Ones do the fighting, and though she lasted for a full 2 rounds, she ultimately was torn to pieces by the mechanoids, while on the other flank more and more necrontyr where pushed back.

However, the follow up was a total anti climax for the evil forces, as the wounded Tomb Spider was shot down from afar by the Sniper, and dissolving the entire flank by that bullet as the scarabs scattered of to safety without their mother. With the gunfire line totally routing and decimated, and the combat flank beaten and rolled up, the way towards the Vault entrance had been cleared and the Heroes had succeeded in their mission so far...

First to enter the vault will be the Germans, who are however severly handicapped by the deaths of their Lead Helga and one of the german troopers, and are only led now by companion Hans.After them come the canadians led by Sasquatch, who`s band emerged the battle completely unscathed.Next in is the SAC where only Valeria sustained a single wound in the encounter.Finally the Spyrers come in, where the hero of the match, the sniper, has suffered also a minor 1 wound...